The Journaling of Olsen 368

Izakayas are Japanese bars where the eating is just as important as the drinking. There's a selection of drinking-friendly dishes that accompany the excellent sakes and Japanese-influenced cocktails. Come for Melbourne's most famous lobster roll, steaming bowls of ramen at lunch, Korean-style barbequed meats and Shanghai dumplings. At this elegant 16-seat Japanese fine diner, which is inside a giant paper lantern in a Bourke Street basement, you'll find one of the best kaiseki – a traditional degustation-style multi-course meal – experiences in town. And yet, Japanese remains one of Melbourne’s most widespread and popular cuisines, which says a lot about its unique appeal. There are numerous high-end restaurants where master sushi chefs expertly ply their craft with multi-course experiences in sleek surrounds, but the casual, mid-range category is where Melbourne really excels.
Upon walking through their doors, you’ll instantly be immersed in their fusion of fine dining, art and design. Surrounded by bold works from photographers including Nobuyoshi Araki and Polly Borland, their Chef’s Table and private Kuro dining room provide a contemporary Sushi experience that encapsulates the essence of traditional Japanese dining. Offering a selection of unique signature dishes including Takumi's style Wagyu beef tataki, salmon carpaccio with wasabi infused yuzu sauce, premium M9+ porterhouse and scotch fillet steaks.

The bincho factor comes into play in that a bincho is about grilling over high quality charcoal in their earthen konro grill. Tasty Smoked duck breast was delicious melt in your mouth, a feature of the Bincho concept, enhanced with an exceptional sauce. Pan fried Hapuka, Sake poached mussel, Mozuku, Chinese cauliflower, snow pea, pink rice cracker, Ponzu butter sauce. Kenji excels with the Ninmono Japanese pumpkin & ricotta wonton tortellini, pea smash, Tempura Ashitaba leaf, soy burdock cream sauce; a great example of fusion. Japanese food is one of the most popular cuisines in Melbourne.
Over an 18-year career, Joshua Bedell has crafted signature dishes in Japanese, Chinese and French fusion restaurants across two continents. Nobu traces his professional ambition to the day his older brother took him to a sushi restaurant for the first time. At Shoya, we encompass the regional and traditional flavours of Japan along with contemporary cuisine from the western world.

We enjoy the vibe in the Flinders Lane restaurant; modern Japanese cuisine in a modern atmospheric environment. During this exquisite omakase experience for just 12 diners, Shinya Nakano, a talented and creative Kyoto-born sushi chef, presents 18 or so morsels in a choreographed showcase of Australian seafood. Raw tuna belly is laid over rice, seared tuna is placed on top of it, and this radical double is then topped with old-school Kyoto-style pickles. A hand roll of Moreton Bay bug tempura is passed to each diner by the chef, in a gesture that breaks the fourth wall in a delicious fashion. Everything – the timing, the presentation, even the plates and vessels – is highly considered and breathtakingly beautiful. Consisting of three levels including a sushi bar, fine dining area and traditional tatami seating, Shoya on Market Lane is driven by their passion for delivering contemporary, authentic and traditional Japanese fine dining.
Fresh local produce is used whenever possible to bring the strong traditional flavours of Japan straight to your plate. Their omakase menu offers an elegant selection of handcrafted nigiri sushi that effortlessly showcases Minamishima’s expertise and technique. Still relatively new on the scene, Ishizuka has proven a valuable addition for lovers of fine Japanese cuisine, focused on the country’s more traditional dining experience known as kaiseki. Here it’s all Beluga caviar and poached daikon topped with foie gras preceding top-grade Wagyu and perfectly textured tuna, wrapped into a set menu that’ll set you back $235pp, and that’s without the option $120pp wine pairing. Their dinner menu offers a delectable selection of nabe ryori with thinly sliced vegetables and Japanese marbled beef cooked in sukiyaki sauce or a clear broth with a side of sesame and ponzu dipping sauces. If you’re visiting with a group of friends, you can dine at their sushi bar or book their chef’s recommended banquet course that includes sashimi and sushi platters, gyu teriyaki, agedashi tofu, misoshiru and more.
This level also features a light-filled, modern terrace that accommodates outdoor diners and floods the restaurant with natural light during the day and provides romantic and atmospheric lighting in the evening. A longstanding Japanese restaurant in Melbourne's eastern suburbs, Aoba feels like you're stepping into one of the many family-run restaurants found throughout Tokyo's winding back-streets. At Ichi Ni Na Na, treat yourself to wafu-seasoned wagyu beef tartare with pickled shallots, radish, shiso and croutons, just-out-of-the-ocean sashimi salads and charcoal-grilled king prawns with yakitori sauce.

With a sophisticated minimalist layout, Hihou has an understated and intimate feel with the right level of sophistication. A feature is the long black marble group table that's surrounded by stools with mood lighting. While sitting there eating I was enjoying the ambience of Izakaya Den.
Peruvian flavours are expertly combined with Japanese cuisine in dishes such as yellowtail sashimi with jalapeno and black cod with miso. A centuries-old culinary artform derived from the ceremonial cooking practices of Zen monasteries, kaiseki is guided by a formal, multi-course structure, with a continually evolving menu that emulates the change of seasons. Relocating to Australia in 2017 to broaden his knowledge of the international culinary landscape, Hitoshi accepted the role of head chef at Melbourne’s two-hatted, refined kaiseki venue, Ishizuka, in June, 2018. Delving into the culinary world at the age of 18, Miyazawa began an apprenticeship with esteemed chef Mamoru Sakamoto, from whom he learned the ancient art of kaiseki cuisine.

Enhance your experience with a wide range of authentic sake, shochu and fine national wines for selection. Kenzan first opened its doors in 1982 and are known for our wide selection of sushi and also our extensive a la carte menu for both lunch and dinner. After school, Nobu spent seven years working in a Tokyo sushi restaurant, before accepting an offer to open a restaurant in Lima. Weaving Peruvian influences into his dishes, this was the creation of his signature style.
Hand-strained miso soup, Tokyo coffee and traditional Japanese fare in West Melbourne. Combining a love of Japanese food fare and Australian milk bars, Le Bajo is North Melbourne’s newest destination for fluffy shokupan bread and house-roasted coffee. When catching up with friends, family or celebrating a special event, it’s not just the food that makes the moment special but also the surrounding view. Since first opening its doors all the way back in 1981, Kenzan on Flinders Lane has been one of the top players when it comes to Melbourne’s best Japanese restaurants.
Experience the refined and elegant Japanese culinary delights, specially prepared with knowledge and century-old techniques, to deliver the most pure and delicate flavours. What if belly-warming food could be also wholesome and healthy, satisfying without tasting soporific? Leave it to Neko Neko, a cosy little eatery cooking homestyle vegan and pescatarian Japanese for which it has amassed a loyal following. Descend below street level for this taste of Tokyo that pays equal attention to its dishes and drinks. The corridor-like space is adorned with an extensive range of sake and beer, and food from the open kitchen arrives quickly. Supernormal is no longer just Tokyo-inspired; it now lends its flavours to some other big cities like Seoul, Hong Kong and Shanghai as well.

After establishing itself Mr Miyagi still has its mojo, and is in fact ever evolving. Saké Restaurant & Bar has been a favourite in Southbank and recently brought its award-winning contemporary Japanese dining experience to Melbourne’s much-loved gastronomic destination, Flinders Lane. The World Loves Melbourne has enjoyed fine meals at Sake in both Melbourne and Sydney.
Perfect for 3 – 4 people to share, this Sashimi delight is best paired with a bottle of Champagne to truly spoil your dad. Chef Shigeo Nonaka brings you on an award-winning Japanese culinary journey for bold diners. Shoya fuses local produce, flavour composition and relaxed atmosphere to effect. Unless you have the metabolism of a nine-year-old, and the finances of a Kardashian, you never stand a chance against Melbourne's ferocious dining machine. The openings just don't stop and ain't nobody got time to keep on top of what's what. So behold, our eat-and-destroy list – a guide to Melbourne's 50 best restaurants.